No. 3, 2018, Land Stewardship Letter - Land Stewardship Project

• An online version of this Land Stewardship Letter is here.

• A pdf version of this Land Stewardship Letter is here.

• Archived Land Stewardship Letters are here.

• For paper copies of the Land Stewardship Letter, contact Brian DeVore via e-mail

Report from the Field…3
• The Community Thresher

Myth Buster…4
• The War on SNAP

LSP News…6
• Staff Changes
• New Board Members
• Journalists Get the Scoop on Soil Health
• 2018 Potluck Cookout
• Farm Beginnings Field Days

Policy & Organizing…8
• LSP Members Fight Factory Farms
• Healthcare Petition Calls for Bold Action
• Farm Bill in Holding Pattern
• Talking About Our Minnesota Future
• Leadership Assembly
• Land Stewardship Action Fund

Community Based Foods…13
• Surveying the Local Foods Landscape
• LSP’s Local Foods Listening Campaign
• CSA Farms: Time to Sign-up

Soil Health…16
• Sometimes Less is More
• Cropping Systems Calculator
• ‘Soil Health & Profits’ Winter Workshops
• Climate Conversation
• A Pocket Guide to the Power of Soil

Seeking Farmers-Seeking Land Clearinghouse…20

Farm Transitions…22
• The Beginning Farmer Next Door
• LSP Farm Transition Winter Workshops
• LSP Workshops on Rental Agreements

Farm Beginnings…25
• 2019-2020 Class
• Farm Beginnings in Other Regions
• Farm Dreams

Ecological Agrarians…26
• Book Showcases Wildly Successful Farming

Membership Update…30
• Rewards for Membership
• In Memory & in Honor
• Support LSP in Your Workplace
• LSP Board Statement on Gender Equity
• Get Current with LIVE-WIRE
• LSP’s Ear to the Ground Podcast
• Membership Questions?
• Volunteer for LSP

Stewardship Calendar…32

Upcoming Events

May 2025

Thursday May 15

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm: MN Women in Conservation
Thursday May 15
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
MN Women in Conservation
42652 County Rd 7, Belview, MN 56214, USA
NOTE: REGISTRATION IS CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT

Come out and play with MNWiC and Renville County Soil and Water Conservation District. Tour Iverson Tree Farm, learn from other women land stewards, and meet local Master Gardeners and conservation professionals who can help with your own land dreams.

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday May 17

11:00 am – 5:00 pm: Community Plant & Seed Swap
Saturday May 17
11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Community Plant & Seed Swap
Lift Bridge Brewing, 1900 Tower Dr W, Stillwater, MN 55082, USA
Lift Bridge Brewing Co. and Sustainable Farming Association are partnering to host a free seed and plant swap and fundraiser at Lift Bridge’s taproom in Stillwater. Vendor opportunities available.

Details here.

Tuesday May 20

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Webinar on Agrivoltaics: Sheep Solar Grazing Producer Panel
Tuesday May 20
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Webinar on Agrivoltaics: Sheep Solar Grazing Producer Panel
Zoom Virtual
Participants will hear from sheep producers about their experiences, along with the benefits and challenges of grazing sheep under solar panels. This webinar is part of a series about cattle and sheep solar grazing and growing forages or grain crops under solar panels.

For details and to register, click here.

Thursday May 29

9:00 am – 12:30 pm: Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Thursday May 29
9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Zoom Online
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing Best Practices to Get Your Farm’s Next Customer is designed to help farmers grow their customer base by sharpening their storytelling and digital marketing skills—whether they’re selling through farmers’ markets, CSAs, or direct-to-retail. This Greener Pastures and Meet the Minnesota Makers workshop will cover how websites and social media can actually convert viewers into buyers to creating content that builds community loyalty.

This workshop is also designed for ag educators, professionals, and partner organizational staff who support farmers directly and want to be well-versed on the marketing best practices to support direct-to-consumer farms.

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday May 31

10:00 am – 12:30 pm: Multi-species Pasture Walk
Saturday May 31
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
872 320th Ave, Frederic, WI 54837, USA
The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC&Dand UW-Madison Extension invite you to a multi-species pasture walk hosted by JohnsonFamily Pastures LLC. The farm is located five miles east of Frederic in PolkCounty. This educational event willemphasize direct marketing, multi-species grazing, part-time family agricultureand silvopasture development. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

TheJohnson Family Pastures farm is home to Chris and Tamara Johnson and their twochildren. They raise grass-fed beef, silvopastured goats, and recently raised anumber of other species. The farm consists of about 160 acres of gently rollingpastures, silvopasture, and forest. Use of both temporary polybraid fencing andhigh tensile permanent fences allow for rotational grazing of small ruminants andout-wintering of beef cattle. Use of long-term farm transition strategies, cost-shareprograms, silvopasture development with goats, regenerative grazing, cattlehandling facility and bale grazing will be discussed along with answering anyand all questions from pasture walk participants.

An extensive and diversified direct marketing programhas been developed by Tamara and Chris that has included farmer markets, e-maillists, newsletters, website ordering, on-farm freezer storage, and other strategiesand tools to support direct sales and services for their customers. Come and learn all about their successfulapproach.

For more information,contact Chris Johnson at 920-960-4475 or Lynn Johnson 715-225-9882 at NW Graziers.

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